Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I guess I’m a fearless knitter.I wanted to make the Curlicue Coverlet from Oat Couture for some time, but I was slightly put off by their description of the project, which states:

” This beautiful coverlet is not for the faint of heart, but experienced knitters will enjoy exploring what can be done with short rows.”

This definitely sounded difficult to me. I’m NOT an experienced knitter, never did short rows in my life and since I felt slightly intimidated by the description, I guess I was somewhat ‘faint of heart’. I also did not want to waste time on some doomed project. But… I like a challenge, so I decided to give this project a try.

Boy, oh, boy was I ever pleasantly surprised!!! It was sooooo easy to make. The pattern is written very well, the short rows explained very clearly, and if you need more instructions on this technique, you can go to the Short Row tutorial on the Knit Picks website. I know that some knitters found this blanket to be somewhat of a challenge – keeping track of scallop decreases/increases and wrapped stitches, but I found that if you use stitch markers to mark your wrapped stitches, you pretty much can relax and just knit away, especially that the pattern/blanket sections are repeated over and over again. Repetition often equals boredom for many knitters. I, too, had moments when I was getting a bit tired of this project. However, as soon, as I started to get bored with a section, the knitting progressed faster and faster – due to a clever and elegant short row design. I have to disagree that this project is ‘not for the faint of heart’ (unless a little bit of knitting boredom gives you palpitations), or for an experienced knitter. I consider myself to be an advanced beginner most of the time, and I did not find this project difficult at all. Unless… I did it all wrong. Still, it looks to me like it came out properly, so I’ll leave it at that.

Suggestions and tips.

This project tends to look ripply and as if the sections are not going to fit properly in the end.It made me a bit worried, especially after reading about Grumperina’s trials and tribulations with this coverlet.I wish that the pattern would stress that achieving proper gauge is important. Many knitters don’t bother matching their gauge when doing afghans, because attaining the same size as in the original pattern is not a top priority/desire – if you have it a bit smaller or larger – no big deal. That’s what I thought, too. However, when it comes to this pattern, it is a good idea to have a similar gauge or at least similar row to stitch ratio, because this thing is knit in one piece and the sections should have proper dimensions in order to fit together in a neat and flat fashion.

When I looked at Ravelry, I noticed that some knitters had problems with persistent rippling and puckering (even after blocking) and most coverlets in un-blocked state had issues, too. Nature of the beast, I guess. I was lucky, in that I looked at Mary Maxim website and checked what type of yarn and size needles they suggest for this pattern (they sell it as a kit). Still, ripples and puckering I had, but I was able to easily steam-block my blanket into submission. And I love it. I was hoping to make some star shaped pillowsto match, but I’m not sure if I’ll have enough time or desire to make them.

(OK, if you’re a yarn purist/snob/connoisseur, please skip this section. I’m about to admit to a yarn heresy ;-) ). I used Red Heart Super Saver and Comfort! Since this is a blanket for a 1.5 year old girl, durability and machine washability were a must. No, I did not want to use a superwash wool, because that would mean having to re-block this thing after each wash and that is definitely not my cup of tea. I bought 3 large skeins (454g each; in dark yellow and the blues) and 1 regular skein of Cornmeal, light yellow (198g) at Wallmart. Overall, I used approximately half of each skein, maybe less.